My Plastic-free Life - Forum: Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/
Simple:Press Version 5.5.8Beth Terry on Tortillashttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1611
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1611I do make my own hummus and included the recipe in my book. I don't make tortillas simply because I don't care about them enough to spend the extra time. But I do know people who do make their own successfully.
]]>Sun, 26 Apr 2015 21:18:00 -0700silver on Pay it Forward - buy a reusable bag to give awayhttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p1602
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p1602This is fantastic! Got me to thinking, what a great gift idea for certain seasons, especially if personalized! Yeah, baby!

We are eventually going to sew small bags from cheesecloth or easily seen through material for putting produce and other items from the store into.

I really love your site.

]]>Mon, 06 Apr 2015 13:50:10 -0700silver on Tortillashttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1601
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1601Beth, I bet if you try different recipes for making tortillas and hummus, you can make yummy taste better than store bought.

Why miss out?

]]>Mon, 06 Apr 2015 13:43:29 -0700silver on The plastic gardern http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1587
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1587In our family we try to patio garden as much as possible. I would love to read ideas that everyone has for any gardening and patio garden ideas, shared. Remember, the more we grow our own food, the less we struggle with the packaging and bagging to bring home from the grocery store.

In pots, wooden boxes we grow spinach, beans, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, leeks, zucchini, other squash, melons, dill, herbs, and our patio yard is 10' x 20'. Yes, we still have plenty of walk and enjoy area in the yard.The other side of the fence are two 2' x 6' ground flower/vegetable gardens, there we grow more of what is on the above list.

Climbing beans and any bean will grow all over the fence and the blooms are a beautiful orange/melon or yellow color, depending on the type of bean. Stakes in pots allow beans to travel upwards as a stand alone in the pot. Cucumbers grow climbing upwards on stakes grabbing and holding with their curly spindles, same as beans. Green onions grow well in drained pots that drain (or any pot) and in the full sun. We mix our vegetables along with the herbs and other ornamental flowering plants in the ground garden. Potatoes and other veggies do well in pots and it is another good way to reuse your compost.

This saves trips to the store and it is so nice to not need packages or bags for bringing in the salad or lunch.

]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:37:41 -0700webdangol223 on The plastic gardern http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1584
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1584Yes Admin is right. This site is dedicated to reducing our use of plastic, and looking for plastic-free, less toxic ways of gardening.
]]>Sat, 14 Mar 2015 10:56:49 -0700kidconcept on A year of tracking my plastic (the 2014 Calendar!).http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/a-year-of-tracking-my-plastic-the-2014-calendar/#p1550
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/a-year-of-tracking-my-plastic-the-2014-calendar/#p1550Hello myplasticfreelife forum,

This is my first post but I've lurked here a few times before. My partner read Plastic Free back in 2013 and spent a couple of months collecting all of her plastic trash before throwing it away. At the time we were traveling and both struck by how much plastic refuse there is about in the world. In December of 2013 I collected all of the plastic trash I would have otherwise thrown away and have kept doing it ever since.

So I've been collecting and labeling my plastic trash for over a year now. It doesn't feel like I've been at it for that long. Looking back, I'm bummed I still produce as much plastic trash each month as I do. I figured I'd have big gains and be down to almost nothing by now. I'm also surprised how little of my trash is recycleable each month. Recyclables seem to be the easiest to do without. I would guess the bulk of my trash has been throw-away plastic wrapping and shipping cushioning.

August was a win. September my stress levels went through the rough when my relationship with my father fell apart. It's interesting to see how much stress levels and living conditions affect my consumption.

If you want to see individual months, you can look through kidconcept.com.They are buried in there. Below is a link to a low-res and a high-res file.

Big thanks to my partner for inspiring me and putting up with me carrying around my garbage and to anybody else who expressed interest in my weird project.

]]>Sun, 08 Feb 2015 16:48:28 -0800Beth Terry on The plastic gardern http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1476
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1476Hi Stephen. This site is dedicated to reducing our use of plastic, not increasing it. We are looking for plastic-free, less toxic ways of gardening.
]]>Wed, 30 Jul 2014 13:13:19 -0700Stephen Dlamini on The plastic gardern http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1475
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/the-plastic-gardern/#p1475Learn to use normal plastic to produce vegetables by reading my Plastic garden handbook.
ISBN 978-1-4931-4147-0.
E book978-1-4931-4148-7
]]>Wed, 30 Jul 2014 06:43:17 -0700Plastic-Free Ericka Moderator on Tortillashttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1318
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1318Thanks for the great idea! I live near a few Mexican restaurants who also make their own tortillas and will see if they can offer me some in my own container.
]]>Tue, 06 Aug 2013 10:59:52 -0700CottonBottomMama on Tortillashttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1306
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/tortillas/#p1306Somewhere I saw Beth say that what she missed most was store-bought hummus and bread products like tortillas. My husband had a great idea for tortillas that I wanted to share! We have a cute little boutique Mexican restaurant in my town that makes their own tortillas. I contacted them, and they said they could sell me a stack of them to put in my own container. Plastic-free and more delicious than store-bought with preservatives. Great creative solution, right?
]]>Mon, 29 Jul 2013 14:12:37 -0700electrofriend on Pay it Forward - buy a reusable bag to give awayhttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p1240
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p1240I would recommend getting the bag and then giving it to another customer yourself. Many stores don't actually follow up with giving it to someone else.
]]>Fri, 21 Jun 2013 05:58:19 -0700Beth Terry on BPA in library date due slipshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bpa-in-library-date-due-slips/#p1127
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bpa-in-library-date-due-slips/#p1127Good that they are asking first. There is BPA-free thermal paper, but the problem is that the chemical they use in place of BPA might be just as harmful or worse. Better not to take a slip if you don't need one. Saves paper, too.
]]>Mon, 11 Feb 2013 21:32:01 -0800Eve Stavros on BPA in library date due slipshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bpa-in-library-date-due-slips/#p1121
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bpa-in-library-date-due-slips/#p1121What a great question to ask your library!!! I'm going to email mine as well, and I hope they're as receptive as they were to ordering a copy of Beth's book for their shelves .

I don't know of any BPA-free thermal paper, but what I have noticed is that my library has started asking me if I want a due date slip rather than simply printing it out and handing it to me. So, at least they're giving us a choice now. Perhaps you could suggest to yours that they ask before they just unthinkingly hand them out (kinda like straws!).

]]>Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:50:39 -0800Jane on BPA in library date due slipshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bpa-in-library-date-due-slips/#p949
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bpa-in-library-date-due-slips/#p949I noticed that the date due print outs and hold slips from my local library are printed on thermal paper. I sent a letter to them to ask if the thermal paper they use contains BPA. I got an answer back right away and they said they are going to check with the department that orders the paper and get back to me. In my letter, I said to them that I was concerned because of the effect this would have on the health of the librarians who handle these slips all day, as well as the children and adult library patrons who often use the print outs as book marks for their library books, so handle them more than once. As well, I mentioned in my letter that this paper with BPA was showing up in recycled paper products.

I thought I would share in case other library patrons would be inspired to do something similar in their communities.

If someone knows of a commercial source of BPA free paper that I could tell my library about, I would love to hear it. A question that I have is: how do we know if the BPA - free paper that replaces BPA-containing thermal paper is any safer?

]]>Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:44:30 -0700Eve Stavros on Pay it Forward - buy a reusable bag to give awayhttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p936
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p936Vanessa, what a great idea! I'm going to look for opportunities to do this when I'm in line at the grocery as well.
]]>Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:09:59 -0700Vanessa on Pay it Forward - buy a reusable bag to give awayhttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p930
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/pay-it-forward-buy-a-reusable-bag-to-give-away/#p930Hello! Whenever I shop I buy a $.99 reusable bag and ask the clerk to keep it and use it for a customer who doesn't bring their own bag. Kind of like paying the bridge toll for the person behind you!
]]>Fri, 03 Aug 2012 10:27:32 -0700MotherLodeBeth on Zero Waste Home - inspiring!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p928
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p928Since we were kids we have always lived in a small home (400 sq ft right now). We rely on small vintage appliances that have no plastic, don't have a tv, don't buy much at the grocery store so avoid plastic there. Use pencils and fountain pens which we have owned since teenagers. Use cloth diapers, buy tooth powder in metal containers, and don't buy sodas or water. 100% natural fiber clothes which I sew using an old treadle machine, and we wear no plastic Birkenstocks which we get resoled/corked, and LLBean non plastic parts boots. Toys are non plastic vintage or hand made wood ones.

Bought some plain white nice gauze material and made my own vegetable/fruit bags which I take to the farmers market so I don't use plastic bags. LLBean has great washable canvas shopping bags and I use them when shopping and toss in the washer weekly before shopping, so they are clean. Make all meals at home unless we eat out and then it's a small eatery that uses non plastic plates, glasses, real silverware and smaller servings so no need to bring leftovers home.

You can get wood handle toothbrushes at most natural food stores and Amazon. We use wide mouth 1/2 pint glass Mason jars with reusable lids for soup, salad work lunches, and have glass Snapple bottles we saved three years ago with metal cap that we wash and reuse for water or homemade ice tea.

Only thing I see in our place that has plastic is the DELL computer,cordless land line phone, switch plate and outlet covers, kayak and ski equipment.....and alas the Dr Bronner liquid soaps. At least we can buy them in gallon jugs. Would LOVE to find a place to buy refillable Dr Bronner soaps.

]]>Wed, 01 Aug 2012 16:30:09 -0700Amy on Zero Waste Home - inspiring!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p731
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p731Yes, I have found great inspiration, advice, suggestions, etc. from both Bea and Beth. I am grateful there are others out there that can be so focused on their goal and then create a forum like this to support the rest of us! Having long been attempting to make changes in my families lifestyle habits, I have made huge strides in the last year since I have been following both the B's! Thanks!
]]>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:28:53 -0800MTNgirl on Zero Waste Home - inspiring!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p728
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p728I agree, I find Bea and Beth both very inspiring as well!
]]>Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:13:46 -0800Eve Stavros on Zero Waste Home - inspiring!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p727
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/zero-waste-home-inspiring/#p727While not 100% plastic-free, Bea Johnson's (nearly) Zero Waste Home is inspirational! She certainly has embraced a lifestyle of wholesomeness, healthy food packaging & preparation, and an almost spartan simplicity. Her blog on http://zerowastehome.com) . And, recently the whole family was on The View - hopefully a good way to reach millions more with this message.

I know I'm inspired to use less, do more, do better, and educate others ... thanks to people like Bea, and of course Beth!!!

People think it´s a great idea & will say "how come you´ve got that nice glass, while I have this shitty plastic thing?!" Even the old boys, people don´t like drinking out of plastic. But they also say they never remember, I see my friends out & they say, "oh no, I forgot again!" Though a couple of times friends have brought mugs. We live on Atlantic Beaches, people I know surf & have taken part in beach cleans so see for themselves the plastic washing up.

Recently the organisers of an event wanted to get people to bring their own mugs. There was an article in the local paper. Unfortunately it never happened... but they have apologised & said it would take a lot of time & we´d need to start now for next year. But the article was published! So I hope a lot of people read it.

]]>Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:22:28 -0700Beth Terry on Taking my own cup & plates to events.http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/taking-my-own-cup-plates-to-events/#p486
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/taking-my-own-cup-plates-to-events/#p486Bravo! Thanks for the inspiration. Did anyone else ever notice what you were doing and did it start any conversations?
]]>Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:38:57 -0700Michelle on Taking my own cup & plates to events.http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/taking-my-own-cup-plates-to-events/#p485
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/taking-my-own-cup-plates-to-events/#p485This summer I had moved into the Village so ended up going to loads of outdoor events. For EVERY one I took along my own cup, plate, fork, bottle obviously. Some times going out with a bag of crockery isn´t my idea of fun! But, this summer I reckon I could of easily filled a whole big bin bag with all the plastic I REFUSED! So it was well worth it. Next year, I´ll invest in metal, lighter crockery!
]]>Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:52:08 -0700KarinSDCA on Repaired my bluetooth!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/repaired-my-bluetooth/#p423
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/repaired-my-bluetooth/#p423Woo hoo!!!
]]>Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:47:37 -0700KarinSDCA on Bringing my own containerhttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bringing-my-own-container/#p422
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bringing-my-own-container/#p422These are awesome! :)
]]>Sun, 28 Aug 2011 21:45:31 -0700Beth Terry on Repaired my bluetooth!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/repaired-my-bluetooth/#p411
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/repaired-my-bluetooth/#p411Yes! Yes! Yay! Hurray!
]]>Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:57:06 -0700Sundog on Repaired my bluetooth!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/repaired-my-bluetooth/#p410
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/repaired-my-bluetooth/#p410Inspired by Beth, I have committed to using what I have and consuming less. After I reading that Beth fixed her hair dryer and rice cooker, I was impressed. When the earpiece on my 2 year old Plantronics Voyager bluetooth broke a few weeks ago, I decided to see if I could fix it myself as I am trying not to buy new things. Apparently many other people had the same issue with their bluetooth so there was lots of info on the internet to help me. I ordered a replacement part and with the help of my husband, I was able to fix it. I am thrilled!
]]>Fri, 26 Aug 2011 13:06:18 -0700Nic@GreenChic on Plastic Free Ravioli!!http://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/plastic-free-ravioli/#p393
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/plastic-free-ravioli/#p393I made my own homemade ravioli with homemade cheese. This was QUITE the accomplishment for me. While I enjoy cooking I don't often delve into completely from scratch adventures as complex as this. (Actually, complex is an overstatement. It's time consuming but shockingly easy!)

I posted about it on my blog. I'd love to hear of other people's plastic-free or just "from scratch" cooking experiments!

]]>Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:22:24 -0700Beth Terry on Bringing my own containerhttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bringing-my-own-container/#p354
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bringing-my-own-container/#p354These examples are so cool! Proof that it only takes one person to start a trend. :-) My mom used to tell me that when I was in high school. "YOU set the style," she would say. Ha! That's a little harder as a kid, but I have met teenagers who are working to get their schools to make environmental changes. It's very encouraging to me.
]]>Mon, 19 Apr 2010 06:34:17 -0700michelep on Bringing my own containerhttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bringing-my-own-container/#p353
Personal Success Storieshttp://myplasticfreelife.com/forum/personal-success-stories/bringing-my-own-container/#p353I'd like to share another small success. I belong to a garden club and we have a nice lunch provided by members at our monthly meetings. The facilty where we meet does not have reuseable dishes or cutlery, so we use disposable. Last month I remembered to bring my own mug for coffee and my own cutlery set. Inspired by DIY instructions on the web I had made my cutlery set from on old napkin, some old picnic cutlery and a piece of coordinating ribbon. During our club's "sharing/question" time, I showed everyone how to make one of their own. Well at our meeting this past Wednesday, one gal had brought a cutlery set she had made and three others brought their own coffee mug. A small success, but if we get a few more members on track each meeting it won't be long before we have all 50 are bringing their own!
]]>Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:36:45 -0700